Visiting Port Union was unique and fun. We began our visit at the 'Bungalow'. Called a bungalow because the home is built with 1- 1/2 floors. The house was commissioned to be built for Sir William Ford Coaker in 1917.
Coaker, born in 1871, had an interest in political things as a young boy, attending the Assembly debates at a very young age. At the age of 13 he instigated a strike of the boy employees at a large exporting firm in St. John's. The strike lasted two days and at its conclusion, the boys's wage demands were met.
By age 20 he owned his own store, but was left bankrupt 3 years later after the bank crash of 1894.Bank Crash After the crash he turned to farming where he gained his compassion for the local fishermen. He was determined that collective action was the only way they could improve their situation and free themselves from the unfair credit system imposed by the fish merchants.
In November 1908 he organized 19 fisherman in the Fisherman's Protective Union. One year later there were thousands of members in fifty local chapters on the north east coast of the island. Note, he did all of this without Facebook too. In 1910 he began the weekly publication of the Fisherman's Advocate. Before long not only were the Fishermen representing themselves but he set up a whole town, and built houses for the workers with reasonable rents. He built schools for the fishermen to learn to read and write in the summers. In 1923 he was 'Knighted' by the British Empire for his works. So there is the background and we started by visiting his home, aka bungalow.
Wow his home was beautiful! All the decorating was done by his niece and Coaker we learned was a simple man, as you will see by his bedroom that his niece was instructed not to touch.
Our first impression was for the early 1900's his house was so very modern in it's decor. The walls and ceilings are Beaver Wood, which is a type of particle board. But the designs that his niece had put into the the Beaver Wood are beautiful. Coaker was said to love the sea, which is why his dining room has port hole windows. The house was so beautiful and so much of its art was given to him by people that respected and loved him or that he bought at auction.
We walked across the street to see his printing press operation and woodworking facility. All were impressive and we were just as impressed that he chose to live right next to the row houses he had built for the fishermen.
Wow, we spent more time than we had planned in Port Union, so our visit to Trinity was a bit short. But while in Trinity we had a late lunch, visited the St. Paul's Anglican Church, the Hiscock house and the mercantile.
The church was beautiful as was the view from its ground.
The Hiscock house was similar to others we have visited but we could not help but cheer for the widow, who found creative ways to survive with 6 children in tow (without remarrying as most would have done). She rented part of her home to a bank, became a postal center and more. We could not help but feel for this this very strong woman.
The mercantile, we will say, we found it interesting how the guide saw this as just providing a needed service in the community..... like so different than just up the road in Port Union. But in fairness we were at the end of a long day.
Newfoundland Trivia: Construction began on the Newfoundland Railway in 1881 and the track to Port aux Basque was completed in 1898. For reasons of economy the the tracks were built on what is known as narrow track- a 3'6" gauge. Standard gauge is 4'8.5". The small gauge required that the train slow down on sharp turns, to avoid coming off of the track. At Wreckhouse, near Port aux Basque, the winds funnel down from the Long Range Mountains at high speeds, and with great force. Lauchie McDougal, a famous Newfoundlander, lived at Wreckhouse. It was believed that Lauchie could smell the wind before it came up. This belief was so strong that the Newfoundland Railway hired him and installed a phone in his home. It was his job to call the railway when he smelled wind that was brewing. The one time the Railway did not head Lauchie's warning, the train had 22 cars blow off of the track at Wreckhouse. The rail distance from St. John's to Port aux Basque was 548 miles and it was the longest narrow track installation in all of North America. The railway seldom made a profit and passenger service ceased in 1969 and all freight service was halted in 1988. Rail service in Newfoundland is now just a historical tale.
Coaker, born in 1871, had an interest in political things as a young boy, attending the Assembly debates at a very young age. At the age of 13 he instigated a strike of the boy employees at a large exporting firm in St. John's. The strike lasted two days and at its conclusion, the boys's wage demands were met.
By age 20 he owned his own store, but was left bankrupt 3 years later after the bank crash of 1894.Bank Crash After the crash he turned to farming where he gained his compassion for the local fishermen. He was determined that collective action was the only way they could improve their situation and free themselves from the unfair credit system imposed by the fish merchants.
In November 1908 he organized 19 fisherman in the Fisherman's Protective Union. One year later there were thousands of members in fifty local chapters on the north east coast of the island. Note, he did all of this without Facebook too. In 1910 he began the weekly publication of the Fisherman's Advocate. Before long not only were the Fishermen representing themselves but he set up a whole town, and built houses for the workers with reasonable rents. He built schools for the fishermen to learn to read and write in the summers. In 1923 he was 'Knighted' by the British Empire for his works. So there is the background and we started by visiting his home, aka bungalow.
Wow his home was beautiful! All the decorating was done by his niece and Coaker we learned was a simple man, as you will see by his bedroom that his niece was instructed not to touch.
Our first impression was for the early 1900's his house was so very modern in it's decor. The walls and ceilings are Beaver Wood, which is a type of particle board. But the designs that his niece had put into the the Beaver Wood are beautiful. Coaker was said to love the sea, which is why his dining room has port hole windows. The house was so beautiful and so much of its art was given to him by people that respected and loved him or that he bought at auction.
We walked across the street to see his printing press operation and woodworking facility. All were impressive and we were just as impressed that he chose to live right next to the row houses he had built for the fishermen.
Wow, we spent more time than we had planned in Port Union, so our visit to Trinity was a bit short. But while in Trinity we had a late lunch, visited the St. Paul's Anglican Church, the Hiscock house and the mercantile.
The church was beautiful as was the view from its ground.
The Hiscock house was similar to others we have visited but we could not help but cheer for the widow, who found creative ways to survive with 6 children in tow (without remarrying as most would have done). She rented part of her home to a bank, became a postal center and more. We could not help but feel for this this very strong woman.
The mercantile, we will say, we found it interesting how the guide saw this as just providing a needed service in the community..... like so different than just up the road in Port Union. But in fairness we were at the end of a long day.
Newfoundland Trivia: Construction began on the Newfoundland Railway in 1881 and the track to Port aux Basque was completed in 1898. For reasons of economy the the tracks were built on what is known as narrow track- a 3'6" gauge. Standard gauge is 4'8.5". The small gauge required that the train slow down on sharp turns, to avoid coming off of the track. At Wreckhouse, near Port aux Basque, the winds funnel down from the Long Range Mountains at high speeds, and with great force. Lauchie McDougal, a famous Newfoundlander, lived at Wreckhouse. It was believed that Lauchie could smell the wind before it came up. This belief was so strong that the Newfoundland Railway hired him and installed a phone in his home. It was his job to call the railway when he smelled wind that was brewing. The one time the Railway did not head Lauchie's warning, the train had 22 cars blow off of the track at Wreckhouse. The rail distance from St. John's to Port aux Basque was 548 miles and it was the longest narrow track installation in all of North America. The railway seldom made a profit and passenger service ceased in 1969 and all freight service was halted in 1988. Rail service in Newfoundland is now just a historical tale.
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